Murder-for-hire Killer Is Sentenced To Death

2nd Defendant In Rinaldi Case Gets 75 Years

May 18, 1996|By Joseph Sjostrom, Tribune Staff Writer.

Saying that she "feared for society if he is ever free again," a Cook County Circuit Court judge sentenced to death a 35-year-old Oak Forest man for pulling the trigger in a murder-for-hire plot that killed his childhood friend's Palatine wife eight years ago.

"He shows no potential for rehabilitation. He shows no remorse (for the killing of Dana Rinaldi)," Cook County Judge Janice Bierman said Friday before imposing the sentence on Ronald Kliner during a hearing in the Rolling Meadows branch court.

Also sentenced Friday for his role in the murder scheme was Michael Permanian, 35, another boyhood friend of the victim's husband and best man at the Rinaldis' wedding.

Permanian, a former Chicago firefighter, was sentenced to 75 years in prison.

In addition, Bierman also accepted the guilty plea of Joseph Rinaldi, 36, the dead woman's husband, who admitted to recruiting his two friends to murder his wife because he was tired of their marriage and wanted the proceeds of her life insurance policy to pay off debts.

Dana Rinaldi, 28, was shot to death on Feb. 18, 1988, in her car just after pulling into a parking space in the Palatine apartment complex where she and her husband lived.

All three defendants were arrested on June 10, 1992.

Rinaldi confessed immediately, police said, but the other two persisted in claiming their innocence.

Rinaldi faces sentencing by Bierman on June 3. Prosecutors have agreed to recommend a 40-year sentence in exchange for Rinaldi's guilty plea and testimony against the two others.

At Friday's hearing, Bierman heaped scorn on both Kliner and Permanian but said she concluded Permanian is capable of showing "a tender side."

"Is he subject to rehabilitation? Maybe," the judge said in finding there were sufficient mitigating factors to preclude the death penalty.

With maximum time off for good behavior, Permanian could be released from prison after serving about half of his sentence.

The judge found no such grounds for showing leniency to Kliner, who has a long background of crime and violent behavior and who was said to have fired the fatal shots into Dana Rinaldi's head.

At hearings last week, prosecutors presented evidence linking Kliner to other crimes, including robbery, burglary and battery.

The judge set an execution date of June 10 for Kliner. But she stayed the execution during the automatic appeal process, which could take several years.

At the trial, Rinaldi said he paid the two $60,000 from the proceeds of a $130,000 insurance policy on Dana's life to commit the murder.

Tamy Behenna, who was Kliner's girlfriend and the mother of their child, testified that Kliner told her that he fired the fatal shots and that he laughed about it. She said Permanian corroborated Kliner's version of events in a separate conversation. She said Permanian told her he wasn't capable of pulling the trigger.

The victim's mother, Betty Schwartz, who was present for the Friday sentencing, said she thought the judge was fair and provided "justice for Dana." She added that the expression of "regret" that Permanian made through his attorney Friday was "too late."

"He was the best man at her wedding. He could have warned her. She was a strong person. She could have taken care of herself," she said.

She said she tried to avoid looking a Kliner in court.

"My worst memory of this is that the last thing my daughter saw before she died was Kliner's face," she said.

Also present at the hearing were the victim's father, Don Schwartz, and her brother, Donny Schwartz. All of the Schwartz family members were present for most of the hearings.